The true life of Teddy Duncan
by Kate Granger-Potter
Summary: Teddy has a secret. Join us as Teddy falls in love and makes a choice that could rip her family apart. Will she do what's best for her and Charlie or what it takes to make her family happy and save face? Teddy/OC, Teddy's POV, some minor language/soasn
1. Prologue

Hi guys, this story became an itch I couldn't scratch (what with my penchant for taking Disney characters and actually putting them in a difficult more 'real' situation). So here it is. I'm still working on my other fics but be patient. I fully intend to finish them, it'll just take time, which I seem to have very little of. I of course own nothing... but if Disney wants to give me a job then...

Enjoy x

The true life of Teddy Duncan

Prologue

Have you ever had a secret so shameful that you hid it even from your best friend? Ever had to tell a lie so huge that it was like putting on a mask every morning to hide who you really are even from the people you love the most? I have. I have lied so well, and so long that even I'm starting to blur the lines between reality and the fantasy I've been living.

It started out innocently enough. The one person I told the truth to convinced me to go along with this lie SHE made up and I couldn't say no. She was my Mom and I needed her help so badly, and she wanted the best for me right? But now I live this lie every single day and each time I wake up and watch them all play happy families it's like she's twisting the knife in my heart just that little bit more, just to remind me that she has that power and I'm helpless to change anything, despite what I want and what I feel is best.

See my name is Teddy Duncan, I am 16 years old and we recently had an addition to our family. Her name is Charlie. To the outside world she's my younger sister that I dote on, in reality she's much much more. She's my daughter.


	2. Coffee and calamities

Still don't own anything, especially noy the first five words of this chapter, they belong to Diablo Cody lol

Chapter one.

It started with a chair. A chair in a coffee house to be precise. It was after school one day and i'd decided to grab a quiet coffee and do some homework before driving the 6 blocks to pick my mom up from the hospital where she worked. My brother PJ had the family car so I said i'd hang around after school and save an extra trip. So there I am, machiatto in one hand, Emily Dickenson in the other when this guy carrying too many books and now a steaming hot coffee too, tries to rush out of the coffee house but his books slip and his coffee spills all down my leg. Ouch! I mean like severe pain all through my leg, the worst pain in the world ever (little did I know at the time right)!

"Oh my god i'm so so sorry!" He said dropping his books in the chair opposite mine and he grabbed some napkins and tried to wipe the coffee off my leg so it couldn't burn me any more. The barrista from behind the bar ran over with a soaking wet cold dishcloth and handed it too him and he, surprisingly gently wrapped it around my leg as the barrista went to find another cold cloth.

"Are you okay?" he asked

Was he kidding me! Here I am practically screaming in pain and he's asking me if i'm okay? Wtf!

"Okay? My leg just got burned! Of course i'm not okay!"

"Look let me take you to the hospital."

"What? No! No I don't want anything from you just leave me the hell alone."

It was then that I made a big mistake, I looked up at him, looked into his eyes and was immediately reeled in. I mean hook, line and sinker baby. See until this point I hadn't even looked at this guy. I was reading and then my leg got all scalded and I was staring and clutching at my leg in pain so I had no clue what this guy looked like. But when I looked up, he looked so horrified by what he'd done and so lost and so just, adorable that I couldn't really stay mad at him. He had short, slightly messy, insanely light brown hair to the point that it almost looked blonde in direct sunlight, an old red letterman jacket, a light blue t shirt and dark denim jeans topped off with a totally rad pair of converse sneakers.

I was snapped out of my staring as my leg throbbed.

"Actually on second thoughts yeah, take me to the hospital. Now. Please!"

"Right"He grabbed his books and held them under one arm, took my book bag and slung it over his shoulder and then helped me up, letting me lean against him as he supported me out to his beat up 2001 Chevvy.

We drove the few blocks to the hospital quickly and went straight in to the emergency room which thankfully wasn't too busy for once.

"Lady with a burnt leg here!" he called and a nurse came rushing over as I sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room. She gently removed the cloths and my skin was lobster red and was starting to blister a little already. For a moment I was relieved i'd decided not to wear pants that morning. That could've been interesting, me stripping down to my panties in the middle of my local coffee joint!

After the nurse had looked at it for litterally like a second and i'd winced in pain as she pealed back the other cloth she waved to an orderly who came over with a wheelchair which I was sat in and promply wheeled through to be taken care of. As I was pushed through I don't know why but I looked back as the doors swung closed behind us. He looked like a lost little boy and from that moment on he was on my mind.


	3. ER

Short chapter this one...enjoy. Thanks to all that reviewed xx

Chapter Two.

Burns suck. I was plastered up with cream and my leg was bandaged tightly and I was told that I could soak the bandage in cold water if the pain got really bad but I'd have to change it right after. They gave me a mild pain killer and called my mom who filled out all my insurance forms before walking to pick up my car and drive _m_e home. By the time I left my leg felt a little better but I still couldn't walk properly and it'd be pretty messed up for a good few days. Walking (well limping) back into the waiting room I was shocked and pleased to see that clumsy coffee jock (I didn't know his name yet, I had to call him something!) was waiting for me. I had never before, and I have never since seen someone look so remorseful it almost made me want to apologise to him! Instead I opted to just go talk to the guy.

"Hi" He stood up quickly at the sound of my voice.

"Hi! How's your leg?"

" Much better. Thank you. And hey I know it was an accident and I'll be fine in a week or so so no big-ey, we're cool."

He smiled at me.

"That's really nice of you but I'm still so so sorry. I should've been looking where I was going and I shouldn't have tried to balance all the stuff I was carrying. Serves me right for taking AP Chem and English huh."

"You're AP?"

"Yeah but as you could probably see it's a bit too much. I was seriously considering dropping Chem but now I guess you made the decision for me."

"Glad me and my leg could help!" I joked.

We both laughed a little and look at our feet like the nervous school kids we were.

"Oh here's your bag. I wanted to stay and make sure you were alright and that you got your stuff back safe." He said holding out my book bag for me to take.

"Thanks."

"Right well I guess I'd better go. It was nice to meet you, I just wish it was under better circumstances" With that he kinda awkwardly gave me a half head bob and walked out while I stood there awkwardly watching him leave. It was only when my Mom pulled up outside and honked that I snapped out of it and realised _'Shit, I didn't even get his name.' _


	4. Phone calls  it begins

Hi guys! So sorry for how long it's taken to update this fic! College/work/family yadda yadda yadda. Anyway I have the next chapter written and am polishing the chapter after that so you should get 2 updates this week! Here's chapter 3

Chapter 3

Now I know what you're thinking, cute story right. Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers destined to meet and fall in love yadda yadda yadda, how does all this lead to a year and 3 months later Charlie being my daughter and not my sister? As soon as I met the guy he was gone again right? Wrong.

See this guy, as you could probably guess from the AP classes he was taking, was no dummy. While i'd been getting bandaged up he checked the front pocket of my bag and found my phone and put his number in! He left a sticky note on the front of it saying to call him if I felt like it. His number was under 'D', Donovan. I swear I must have been smiling like the Cheshire cat when I found it while my Mom was driving us home, that and the pain killers may have heightened the joy I felt at this incredibly cute guy giving me his number!

"What are you smilin' at?" My Mom asked good naturedly

"Oh nothin'. I'm just thinking this may not have been the worst day ever after all."

I left it a few days before I called him, naturally, and when I did he seemed genuinely pleased to hear from me.

"Hello."

"Hi, uh, Donovan?"

"Yeah speaking."

"It's Teddy. Teddy Duncan. We met in the coffee house a few days ago."

"Burn girl?"

"Wow what a great nickname."

"I'm sorry I didn't really know your name till right now! How's your leg?"

"Better. A little red still but it doesn't actually feel like it's still burning any more."

"Well that's good. ..." There was a momentary awkward silence . "Wow, i'm sorry but i'm a little stunned you actually called."

"I was stunned you left your number in my phone. It was a pretty risky move"

"Yeah. Believe it or not it's not one I use regularly."

"What spill coffee on a girl and see if she'll call you?"

"No, actually giving someone my number isn't really something I do very often but I thought it was worth a shot." I was practically doing a happy dance at this point.

"So uh Donovan, how come I haven't seen you around before?"

"I just transferred here from Minneapolis. I'm a senior at South High"

"No way I go to South High!"

"Awesome. You a senior too?"

"No i'm a sophomore"

"Ah so you have yet to experience the sheer joy that is college prep classes."

"Yeah i'm not quite there yet. So you're going to college?"

"If I can get a football scholarship, which is why I really need to keep my grades up."

"Right. I'm sure some college scout isn't gonna pass up a chance to sign you."

"That's sweet. But you haven't even seen me play yet."

"Maybe I'll come to your first game."

"Okay how 'bout we make a deal. You come to my game on Saturday and i'll take you out for a cup of coffee afterwards. You know I felt guilty that you didn't get to finish your cup the other day."

"Uh yeah I think that would be nice."

"Alright, cool. Look I hate to say it but I got to go, I got football practise in like 15 minutes and i'm not even at the gym yet."

"Ok sure, we'll talk soon and maybe i'll see you at school?"

"I hope so. Bye Teddy."

"Bye Donovan"

I hung up and flopped down on my bed with a goofy grin. He liked me.


	5. When you're ready, you know

This is dedicated to all the wonderful people who've added this story to their alerts, especially those who've added it during it's insanely long hiatus. Thank you. I hope this makes up for the wait. Chapter 5 will be 'the conception' act itself (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more! lol)

Chapter 4

So that's how Donovan and me started dating. I went to his game that Saturday and cheered him on. He played Wide Receiver and we actually won the game (thanks to his 2 touchdowns after which he took off his helmet and pointed at me in the crowd). True to his word he took me out for coffee after.

We sat and we talked and it turned out we had a lot in common. We both liked political movies and hated math. He liked art and was almost certainly going to college, where as I wasn't sure what I wanted to do after high school yet. I'll be honest the thought of whatever it was we were doing ending in less than a year did put a little bit of a question mark over whether it was a good idea to get involved with this guy but I really wanted to. Like r_eally_ wanted to.

I kind of consider that afternoon our first official date. He walked me home and kissed me goodbye on the cheek, which of course made me blush beet red, fumble for the doorknob and almost fall inside the house. He just smiled and walked away down the street.

Mom and Dad weren't all that keen on me dating a senior but after they met him and he became a semi regular visitor to the Duncan household they quickly warmed to him.

It was our third date that he actually kissed me properly for the first time. He was amazing. Once again he'd walked me home, holding hands, and when we got to my front porch he took my other hand in his, looked into my eyes, leaned in slowly and kissed me. It lasted only a few moments but it was absolutely wonderful and my heart was ramming away in my chest with what I swear was enough force to break apart a mountain. His lips were so soft that I'd swear he used a moisturiser of some kind and as soon as it was over it felt like we'd been doing it all our lives. Judging from his smile I think it would be fair to say that he liked it too. He seemed to walk away with an extra spring in his step.

He wasn't your typical 'star of the football team' kind of ass-hole that you seem to find in every high school these days. Coming from a relatively small town he'd been brought up by his Dad and his Grandma after his Mom left them when he was 18 months old. He went to church every Sunday (but hated the bigots that twist the bible to promote their own agenda) and apparently had only kissed two girls before me, both of them turning into somewhat serious relationships. He was a gentleman, holding doors open, pulling out chairs and always made me feel special.

Some other guys on his team ripped it out of him for dating a sophomore who's only just turned 16 but they came around eventually as it became more and more obvious we were serious about each other.

Everyday we'd meet for lunch and every day I'd get an extra jello and he'd let me steal some of his fries. We'd talk about our day or we'd study and just felt better in each others company. After school he'd usually give me a ride home but we generally saved our dates for the weekend so our grades wouldn't suffer and we could still hang out with our other friends too. Every night at 11 we'd call each other just to say goodnight.

For our three month anniversary he made reservations for us at a fancy French restaurant and got us tickets for a comedy gig in Denver. It was amazing.. The acts were awesome and that was the first night that I think we both actually felt like a couple rather than two people who'd been going out for a while.

So you can see why, after us dating for six months and things going great together we started to have 'the talk' with each other.

He was a virgin, like me, but adamant that I was not to feel pressured in any way (which of course just made me want him more!)

Neither of us thought there was anything wrong with sex before marriage but agreed that it was definitely something special, at least the first time anyway, that should be shared with someone you really love and trust. I don't know why but it shocked me that we could talk so openly and honestly about it. I think part of me worried that he thought because I was younger than him i'd have all these unrealistic expectations of how good he'd be but that never crossed my mind. It's a learning curve, getting to know each others body and fitting into each other like a new pair of shoes, they always need wearing in.

"Okay how about this for a plan," he started after desert one night after we'd been sitting on the couch at my place talking for awhile,. "If we're both in the same place in our relationship on prom night, how 'bout I get a hotel room?" It was three weeks away.

My mouth went dry, this was actually going to happen. I must have momentarily spaced out 'cos next thing I know he's waving his hand in front of me.

"Teddy? Ted you okay?" he asked. I shook my head a little.

"Uh yeah, yeah I'm fine"

"You sure? 'Cos you know if that's too soon we can..." I smiled at his rambling and cut him off with a kiss.

"Prom sounds perfect." I say, placing my hand on his cheek. He smiled and seemed a litle relieved.

"Ok good. I was starting to worry that prom night be a little, I duno, cliché?" I laughed

"It's a little cliché but I love it, and I love you." Whoa, where'd that come from! The words came out of my mouth like a tidal wave before I could process or stop them, the natural banter and laughter of a few minutes ago dissappeared in a second, the easy smiles falling from our faces like lead.

He seemed to take a deep breath and looked me in the eyes. That was it. Me and my big mouth had blown it. Anyone whose ever seen a sitcom knows that saying it too soon was an absolute disaster, the only thing worse being the person not saying it back.I was absolutely petrified of what he was about to say. Would he let me down easy? Say he just wasn't there yet but that 'Gosh I sure was a swell girl' ( don't ask why I though he'd use a faux fifties accent to say that but I really wasn't thinking much beyond _Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh myGod'_ at that point). Instead, yet again he surprised me and said seven words that I have never forgotten since.

"I love you too. I really do."

You wanna know what came after that? Lets just say he didn't need to book that hotel room. And we didn't wait 'til prom night.


End file.
